Having helped out to run the Penguins Unbound group I like the ideas Michael and Erik have proposed. Even though Penguins Unbound has had InstallFests centered around Ubuntu, we just had our InstallFest in November and there was Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, etc. all tried out. I believe there will always be a place for activities like that in which one could say it falls in the eco-system of Linux. Going forward there are several great ideas proposed for future topics (ZFS, Puppet) for the group. These will not be Ubuntu or even Linux specific per se but have ties the IT professional community in general (and happen to run on Linux). I would support meeting in January to refocus the group. I think the mailing list serves its purpose for a casual question/communication vehicle but I am unaware if the TCLUG has met (other than to occasional social event). I would even propose a straw man that really centers around the IT professional community that has tracks (like a conference). These tracks could include something like: applied languages (java, ruby, php), operating system focus (android, BSD, et. all), scripting/automation, etc. Each track could meet whenever it wanted assuming some volunteer to manage said track. There are already groups that have this focus and maybe they would (if they wished) coordinate and/or run the track. In short, I'm proposing that while a Linux User Group is definitely a piece of the fabric of the IT community, the fabric is rich and should be flexible to the other pieces of fabric to promote computing in general. The refocus could help bring out the focus around Linux and what is needed by our community in the Twin Cities. Count me in to be willing to assist. On Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Michael Moore <stuporglue at gmail.com>wrote: > There seemed to be a great deal of interest in desktop Linux 10 to 15 >> years ago. Local Linux events were well attendend. Apple was languishing >> and a lot of smart people were trying to do what they could to avoid >> Microsoft's apparent monopoly of everything. >> > > 10 years ago you pretty much needed local Linux support because you were > going to have some sort of install problem. If you were coming from Windows > you might not have ISO burning software so even getting a CD might be > difficult. If you got past install, you might need to compile a kernel to > get support for some specific piece of hardware. > > Users coming into Linux now are likely to discover it online, discover > support communities online and ask for help in distro-specific forums > instead of joining a local LUG. > > But these days? Look around. It would appear desktop Linux is increasingly >> becoming more and more obscure as people move on to their Macs, iPads, >> iPhones and Android devices. >> >> Who runs Linux on the desktop these days? A few Unix graybeards (myself >> included) and some stubborn idealists. All the cool kids have MacBook Pros. >> >> Ironically, in many ways, given the rise of the web and the corresponding >> reduction in importance of the Windows based application ecosystem, it's >> never been a better time to run Linux on the desktop. We've got a few high >> quality web browers and email clients at our disposal. PC hardware to run >> Linux on has never been more affordable. And Linux installs in a breeze. >> > > I think Linux use has become more mainstream, and users aren't and don't > have to be as vocal about it. I heard a discussion between non-technical > people at church a while back about the merits of Mint vs. Ubuntu. Some of > the people installing Linux today are the ones who 10 years ago would've > been called on to remove adware from a relative's computer. > > 10 years ago, the local LUG (at least where I was) was also the primary > place to go to for other technical help like scripting, web development, > tech job hunts and other things that aren't strictly Linux related. The LUG > was simply the watering hole for local tech savvy population. (REALLY Off > topic material had to have "OT" in the subject line). If you're going to > get into scripting today you might be better off joining a Python or Ruby > mailing list rather than one focused on Linux. > > If Linux and tech users are headed to distro/topic specific support groups > it does raise the question of what the purpose of a local LUG is. If it's > just to hang out online and handle the occasional Linux related email, then > the current state of the mailing list probably mostly fine. If we want to > have a more defined purpose then Erik's proposed January meeting sound like > an important chance to refocus the group. > > -- > Michael Moore > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mailman.mn-linux.org/pipermail/tclug-list/attachments/20131125/af1e708a/attachment.html>